Path Less Traveled
by Allis0nW0nd3rland
Summary: A horrible tragedy befalls Doc's family. All seems lost until two girls from the future arrive. Marty is thrown into the equation when a familiar face from the future kidnaps one of the girls. Well-developed Mary Sues in AU. I promise it's not horrid!
1. Back in Time

END OF THIRD MOVIE October 27, 1985

Hill Valley, CA

Marty and Jennifer stood looking at the rubble that was once Doc's most precious invention. Jennifer saw the sadness etched on Marty's face.

"You're right. There isn't much left." She stated softly. Marty continued looking at the destroyed DeLorean.

"The Doc is never coming back."

Marty glanced over to another spot in the debris and picked up half of a photograph that had stuck out from under the car parts and dirt as if calling to him. Matter of fact, it was the photo taken of him and Doc in front of the clock taken in 1885. Now only Doc stood there smiling—Marty's half of the photo had probably torn off and gotten burnt to nothing when the train destroyed the DeLorean. Marty stared long into his friend's cheerful smile and sighed. "I'm sure gonna miss him, Jen." He was then interrupted by the sound of bells. The railroad crossing bells were going off! He and Jennifer frantically searched the span of the tracks to both horizons but neither saw any train actually headed in either direction.

Marty was confused, "What the hell?"

His short question was quickly answered as three sonic booms accompanied a locomotive onto the tracks in front of him and his girlfriend, sending both flying backwards. The couple landed on the grass, rattled but okay. Marty and Jen helped themselves up and sat on the grass, squinting their eyes at the train, which had ELB painted on its side. _No… It couldn't be…_ Marty thought, and a head of wild white hair poked its head through the cab window. Marty smiled in surprise.

"Doc!" Marty exclaimed. Doc looked happy as well when he spotted his teen friend.

"Marty!" Doc said to the boy. He was wearing period clothes of the 1890's and seemed fine. Marty became excited; "Doc! Doc!" He and Jen ran over to the train's side and looked up at the scientist that just moments ago seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"It runs on steam!" yelled the inventor, pointing to the train. He opened the cab much like a DeLorean door and Clara Clayton came into view. "Meet the family!" Doc said, pulling Clara to his side, "Clara you know."

Clara waved, somewhat bewildered of the ordeal. "Hi Marty!" She said.

"Ma'am!" Marty said, still somewhat amazed that Doc had gotten married.

Doc continued, "These are our boys!" He and Clara smiled proudly as Doc presented his eldest son, Jules, and his brother, Verne. Jules appeared to be around eight while Verne appeared to be five or six. "Boys, this is Marty and Jennifer." Doc informed the kids. Both smiled and waved and Marty and Jen waved back. Doc smiled.

"Doc! I thought I'd never see you again!" Marty admitted.

Doc piped up, "You can't keep a good scientist down. After all, I had to come back for Einstein, and, well, I didn't want you to be worried about me."

Clara nudged her husband and handed him a parcel. Doc had forgotten that he had brought it with him.

"Oh! I brought you a little souvenir." Doc added, and sat on the cab steps as he handed the parcel to Marty.

The seventeen year-old tore open the package to discover a framed picture exactly like the one he found on the ground. It looked brand new.

"It's great, Doc. Thanks." Marty said.

Jennifer stepped up to Doc opening a folded piece of paper. "Doctor Brown? I brought this note back from the future and now it's erased!" she declared.

"Of course it erased!" Doc exclaimed. Jennifer was still as confused as she was before.

"But what does that mean?" She asked.

Doc smiled, "It means that your future hasn't been written yet. No one's has. Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one. Both of you!" Doc headed back into the train.

"We will, Doc!" Marty promised.

Doc looked down at the two teens and told them to stand back as the train doors closed with a puff of steam. He informed his kids to buckle up and Clara helped them do so. Marty squinted up at Doc as the train started to whirr louder.

"Hey, Doc… where are you going now? Back to the future?" Marty asked.

Doc shook his head and smiled once more. " Nope! Already been there!"

The Brown family waved at Marty and Jennifer and the couple waved back. The train's wheels lifted up and Marty now understood what Doc had meant—the train was hover converted! With a few train whistles, it lifted into the sky and disappeared.

* * *

A/N: For fun, the names of the chapters are titles of 80's songs, remakes of 80's songs, or modern songs that are very much neo-80's-sounding. I tried to make most of the songs actually from the 80's than not. All songs have lyrics that tie in with the fan fiction. Sometimes the lyrics of the songs not only hold meaning to the chapter, but add to it as well! All song titles from the chapter subtitles are copyright their respective writers and/or artists.

The beginning of chapter one is taken right from the end of the third movie. Back to the Future: The Ride at Universal Studios as well as the aforementioned movie trilogy inspired the main plot. All characters not recognizable from the original trilogy or ride are copyright Allison Lawler, 2009.


	2. Love is a Battlefield

About one year later…

October 26, 1986

Hill Valley, CA

Marty sleepily pulled the covers off his head and gazed around. Sunday morning was the last day of the weekend he could actually sleep late and he wanted to make the best of it. He turned around to face his alarm clock. It was almost 9:00 and he groaned. _Maybe just another half hour more, _he thought. Marty changed his position again just as the phone started to ring.

"Ugh… Let me sleep!" Marty complained to himself. He reluctantly picked up the receiver and muttered a groggy "Hello?" into it. He wasn't too surprised to hear Doc's voice chirping from the other end.

"Good morning, Marty!" Doc said cheerfully.

Marty was still tired, "Uh… What's up, Doc?" He couldn't help but realize what he had said and gave a small laugh.

Doc started to talk again, "Do you know what today is, Marty? I don't think you have to think very hard about it!"

Marty was still drowsy and thought to himself, _think again, Doc! _He thought about it for a while.

"October 26th… Uh… Oh hey! Isn't that when Jen and I went…"

Marty was interrupted; "Yes! It's when the DeLorean had its maiden voyage through time, remember? And you… You were the first actual human time traveler! And if not for you I wouldn't be here now!" Doc was absolutely bubbling.

"Oh yeah! How could I ever forget that day? Wow… that whole thing was weird… I was almost shot about…what? 4 times? I almost caused the end of the universe and I almost wasn't even born… Yeah, I definitely remember that now." Marty was starting to wake up a little. By now he was used to time travel but he would never forget his first experience with it; it was _almost_ a total disaster.

"Well," Doc added, "If it makes you feel better I _was _shot twice, shot _at, _committed in an alternate reality, struck by lightning, and, well, I fell in love with Clara! That's my favorite part!" On the other end of the wire, Doc slightly blushed as he saw Clara talking to Verne in the living room. _Yes, _he thought, _it is with Clara that I have been at perhaps my happiest! Without her… actually without her this place would be a total mess! _Doc grinned. "We scientists can be so disorganized, I swear…"

From the other line he heard Marty utter a very confused, "What?"

Doc snapped back into conversation. "Sorry, Marty, I got lost in my own thought processes and… well… Anyway, Marty, I was hoping you might want to come over for a while and perhaps celebrate this special day with my family! There is going to be a special ceremony tomorrow at the Institute after work so I won't be able to see you tomorrow. Plus, today _is _the actual one year anniversary!"

Marty didn't have to think about it long. "Sure, Doc. I'll be right over after I take a shower."

"Alright, Marty! I'll see you in a little bit. Don't take too long!" Doc happily responded. Both said their goodbyes and hung up with each other. Marty hopped out of bed with a yawn, and it wasn't too long until he was out of the house with his skateboard in hand.

* * *

Marty soon arrived at the Brown homestead. It was a beautiful home and Marty was glad that Doc and his family decided to stay in Hill Valley just a few days after he had seen that train disappear into the sky last year. Marty was amazed by how fast the year had gone. Doc moved into a nicer home, rebuilt the DeLorean, set up the Institute of Future Technology… at least Doc was having a good year. Marty figured it was about time to go on another huge adventure; his school life was getting monotonous and he kind of wanted to feel lost in time once more. He knew, however, that a situation as highly involved as his first travel through time would probably never happen again. Marty, though, was happy. Doc usually had enough eccentric gadgets to occupy Marty's free _and _supposed study time and yet allow for harmless fun. Jules and Verne Brown were also fun to hang around with for their age, although Jules was quite the image of his father in the upstairs department and Verne was still a curious, yet somewhat stubborn kid.

Marty was just about to ring the doorbell when he heard barking from inside. Clara gently opened the door.

"Hello Marty!" Mrs. Brown said, "Emmett has been waiting for you! He's so excited about today!"

Marty stepped inside and gave Clara a friendly hug and Einstein, Doc's dog, a pat on the head. "Oh, it was no problem, Clara. After all, how am I supposed to let down the Doc? I'd have to think I probably owe him my life, not just vice versa."

Clara smiled and nodded. "Well, Marty, Emmett is waiting for you. He's either in the kitchen or in the lab…"

Discord arose from the living room. From what Marty could hear, somebody's game wires were connected to another's science experiment. Clara excused herself and was about to yell herself when Verne ran in. "Marty's here!" Verne yelled, then he proceeded to tell his mother what Jules did.

"Uh… I'm going to find Doc." Marty muttered, and with a nod from Clara he started to walk off. "Father is in the kitchen, Martin!" Jules called. Marty thanked him over his shoulder and continued onward.

Doc sat at the table with a gadget that had wires protruding from its surface. He looked up when he heard Marty's footsteps and beckoned the teen to sit across from him. Marty looked down at the weird object until Doc realized what he was staring at.

"Oh! This is Jules' science project; I believe it has something to do with television waves or something of the sort… Verne stormed off when he saw it; started mumbling about video games."

Marty nodded, thinking of the argument probably still happening in the other room.

"Anyway Marty," Doc began, "I figured that today we'll take the DeLorean out for a spin, reminisce about time travel, have some cake..."

"Sounds great, Doc." Marty said.

Clara walked into the room with Jules and Verne. Marty guessed that the boys had settled their argument. Jules seemed confident and picked up the gadget in front of Doc while Verne looked on with a scowl. Clara rubbed his shoulders, "It's only for a week, Verne, honey. Then you'll get it back, okay?" Verne smiled up at his mother, "Okay, Mom." He ran to the living room once more.

"What was that?" Doc asked his wife, "Why was Verne all in a twist for?" Clara walked over to Doc. "You know how it is, Emmett. Jules needed Verne's game wires for his experiment for whatever reason he needed them and didn't think enough to ask Verne." Doc nodded, "So of course his experiment won't work without them and Verne got mad when he couldn't find them, right?" "Exactly," Clara said, "And so I told Verne to let his brother use them until after the science fair is over in a week."

Doc agreed, "I always knew you had good judgment, Clara."

Marty's stomach growled and both Dr. Brown and his wife turned to look at him. "Right now," Marty said, "I'd like to judge some food. How about that cake you were going on about before?"

Clara frowned. "Oh... I don't think we have any! I forgot to go to the store before and…"

Doc interrupted, "It's okay, Clara! We'll all head out in the DeLorean and walk around downtown Hill Valley. Didn't they just put up that new 'Olde Marketplace' anyway?"

Clara nodded, "That's right! I'll go and get the boys and meet you and Marty outside." Clara left the room on Verne's old trail.

Doc headed towards the lab that contained the DeLorean and beckoned Marty to follow. Marty obeyed; Doc wasn't the only one who felt the need to get out of the house.

* * *

In a matter of minutes, Doc and Marty had adjusted the DeLorean to fit more people. Clara and the kids appeared in the doorway a few minutes after that, the former reassuring her husband that all doors had been locked. All five people got into the car without haste and left the Brown homestead, optimistic that the day ahead of them would be quite fun for all. No one even seemed to mind the truly inessential trip out for cake.

Doc seemed extremely happy to be driving a DeLorean time machine packed with his whole family, including Marty. He had known Marty now for years. Before he had his own family, Doc even viewed Marty as a sort of dysfunctional son, although Marty would not realize this fact until later on in his life. Once or twice Doctor Brown even thought about how Marty really felt about him but never came to any real conclusions about why they bonded so well as best friends. Despite the age difference between them, Doc and Marty acted like antiquated college buddies, even though Marty sometimes had trouble figuring out what Doc was explaining to him. True, the both of them had been through a lot together, but why destiny chose to put the two opposites together would always be a mystery that Doc could never figure out. The issue was beyond science.

Doc pulled into the parking lot of the Hill Valley Marketplace, a chain of shops much like a flea market. Everyone got out of the car. Verne spotted a stand selling games and grew wide-eyed. He took a couple of steps, grinning happily. He turned around and Clara read the expression on her son's face before he even spoke one word.

"Let Verne have some time in there, but," she looked at Verne to make sure he listened to what she said to Jules, "make sure you get to where you want to go too."

Both boys nodded and started off towards the entrance of the arcade.

"Don't get separated!" Doc yelled after them.

Jules turned as he walked, "We won't, father!"

Clara turned to Doc, who had just finished locking up the DeLorean, and kissed him. Marty couldn't help but smile and roll his eyes a little.

"I love you, Dr. Brown." Clara professed.

Doc smiled, "I love you too, Clara."

Marty moved further away from the car and smirked. He cleared his throat and Doc and Clara broke out of what Marty termed "Love Bird Mode."

Clara smiled, "You boys go and walk around for awhile! I'll go and get that cake, _hmm_?"

Doc agreed. "Alright, Clara. We'll meet up later."

Doc and Marty set off into the market, where the both of them found interest in music shops and gadget stores. As the two friends slowly tried to return to the car with bags in hand, Doc decided to implore Marty's educational status.

"So, uh, how's school by the way?" Doc asked.

Marty looked down at his shoes as they walked down the street.

"Well, fine… but I failed the History test…"

Doc shook his head.

"Marty! How could one of _my_ good friends possibly fail a _History_ test?"

Marty stealthily shoved his Walkman and headphones deeper into his pocket.

"Gee, Doc, I have _no _idea."

Doc rolled his eyes and started to ramble on about embracing knowledge but Marty stopped in his tracks as he heard a familiar voice calling him and a familiar touch tapping his shoulder. Marty turned around to find his girlfriend Jennifer Parker, who seemed quite troubled. Doc, noticing this, nodded to Marty, gestured that he'd be down the path, and walked off.

"Jen, what's wrong?" questioned Marty, "You seem… really upset."

Marty started to run his hand through Jen's hair, but Jen took his hand away and held it awkwardly.

"Marty, I tried to call you earlier but your mother said you were with Doctor Brown, and, well, it is such a coincidence that I found you here…"

Marty smiled and let out a nervously suppressed laugh.

"Aw, Jen, that's no need to get up—"

"No Marty," Jennifer interrupted, "It's not that. It's just that I've been thinking and… Oh, Marty, I love you, but I can't take this anymore; the time traveling, the danger, messing around with time… Frankly, you and Doc are starting to frighten me."

The young time traveler looked around in disbelief.

"Jen, come on. The Doc and I aren't fooling around and besides… I want us to have a future. A future _together._"

"It's always you and Doc," Jen pleaded, "I'm starting to think Strickland was right about Doc. And from what I saw of the future…"

"Jen! Doc is NOT dangerous! You've gotta be kidding me. And the future…"

"Marty," Jen intruded, "I... want to take a break/"

Tears streamed down Jennifer's face as she sharply turned away from Marty and ran off. Marty couldn't believe it. He stood in the alley with his fists curled tight. His body, though, remained limp, heavy, and empty, yet full of rage. Jennifer—his love, his friend, and his supposed future wife—was gone.

Soon, his head started to pound along with the loud beating of his broken heart and he started to run. He ran and ran, searching for someone- _anyone –_that he knew, anybody that he could go to. Marty felt as if his vision was unclear, although he knew he wasn't crying. Voices and sounds clamored in his ears and seemed to grow louder. Suddenly he felt a great force pull him back and one voice became clearer and more distinct than the others. Slowly that voice became audible, and Marty realized Doc was saying his name and looking at him rather strangely.

"Marty!" Doc called, "Come to it, boy! Great Scott! What's wrong? You look quite sick."

Marty shook himself to full consciousness and sighed, giving Doc a sad look.

"What did Jennifer say? She looked upset as well," Said Doc.

"Well," Marty began, "Do you remember that time you used that sleep-inducing thing on her?"

Doc cocked his head, "Um… Yes; why?"

The teen tried to joke, "Well I think you really _did _give her brain damage."

"GREAT SCOTT! She isn't sick, is she? Oh gosh, I—"

"No, Doc… But she thinks that you're dangerous and that her future is still going to be horrible if she's with me."

Doc's mouth gaped a bit and his eyes changed shape. Marty took the expression as being confused, sad, and insulted at the same time. Marty sighed once more.

"She broke it off with me, Doc."

"Oh, Marty," Doc said sadly, "I'm so sorry… If there was anything I could do, I'd—"

Marty shook his head.

"No, Doc. It's not your fault, it's mine. I let the knowledge that Jen and I are together in the future get to my head and I don't think Jen… Aw, heck, with this time travel stuff and how I've been treating her. I'm not too surprised she broke up with me."

Doc patted Marty's back.

"Are you alright?" Doc asked.

"I… I'm going to be fine," Marty stated, "I'm sure one day I'll find another girlfriend, or, maybe Jen will come back to me. Who knows? Let's go find Clara or somethin'. I'm a bit tired of being here."

* * *

"That's perfect, thank you!"

Clara Brown had picked out the perfect cake for the occasion and soon was handed a large box. Inside was a beautiful round cake decorated as a clock's face. An inscription read, "Time Flies By! Congrats!" Apparently the cake was for graduations and anniversaries, however, Clara thought it would be just the right thing for her husband and Marty's own celebration. Clara handed the salesperson a twenty-dollar bill, received her change, and walked off to find Doc. She was anxious to show him the irony in her delicious find.

As Clara rushed down the sidewalk, she was jerked forward from behind and the woman who ran into her fell down. At first, Clara balled a fist in agitation, but the tired woman on the ground in front of her appeared so scared when she looked at Clara, that Clara decided instead to help her up.

"Jeepers," Clara said, "You're in quite the rush."

The young woman looked around.

"I… I'm so sorry I bumped into you! I really hope you're all right, but, uh… I have to go…"

As the woman ran off, Clara felt something wasn't right. First of all, that coat and the name on her work tag… That name was very familiar to Clara but she couldn't exactly place it to a face. Where could she have known it from? It wasn't the whole name, just the last, and the fact that she knew it sent chills down Clara's spine. Clara thought long about it and decided she had a bit of a conclusion but she shook her feelings off and continued her walk.

Clara drew closer and closer to where she thought Doc and Marty would be. As it turned out, her husband and Marty were closer than she thought as she rounded a corner and saw the two down the smaller pathway. In an alley next to her, Clara heard rushed footsteps and she quickly turned her head to follow the sound, expecting it to be the girl she saw before.

Clara gasped and started running.

"EMMETT! MARTY!"

Doc and the teen quickly turned around to Clara's panicked cries and before Dr. Brown could say anything, his wife continued,

"MARTY! EMMETT!! RUN!"

Doc opened his mouth to inquire as to why he should run. His wife was closer now and didn't appear to be chased by anything or in any form of danger. Marty had taken a few steps, but had become confused by what exactly was going on. Clara, nearly on the verge of tears, lunged at her husband, pushing him to the ground as a loud noise was heard by all three of the friends. Clara cried out in pain and tried to get up but instead rolled onto her back. Emmett helped Clara sit up, but Clara yelped and clutched her side. Sure enough, a bit of blood, though not at all a lot, was seeping its way through Clara's dress.

"Emmett… Gosh… I think- I think I've been shot!"

Doc's face twisted in horror at the very words, and Marty's face soon followed. Clara's face when she had been shot... Marty had seen that face before.

_Please_, he thought, _Please don't let me see a friend die... Please, not again..._

* * *

_A/N: _I want it to be known how PAINFUL this was to write. I ship Doc/Clara and Marty/Jennifer, but in this story I'm trying something. If you ship them, don't give up, though! There may be a surprise at the ending...


End file.
